The Red Army Faction, a Documentary History, Volume 1 (74 page)

Whether they are part of the justice system, the executive, the political parties, the corporations, or the media, the greasy elite understand only one language: violence.

The misery and humiliation in the state security wings and the barbarism of force-feeding is for them no more than their own sick in-joke for the lunchroom.

Should it be taken up again, they intend to use the strike to kill you, just like now, because we need you, and they want to take every trace of morality and solidarity that the sacrifice of your struggle has produced and bury them under a mountain of shit, a mountain of cynical rumormongering and propaganda.

They’d like to have a good long laugh at our expense. Those who understand the struggle in the isolation holes (the dungeons, the torture of force-feeding)—those who understand the prisoners’ determination, know that it is possible to be free. We will not make any further demands, and the ongoing activity and solidarity of the RAF will not be limited to communiqués.

We repeat: should a prisoner be murdered—and death in an isolation cell is nothing other than murder—we will respond immediately, both inside and outside of Germany.

Should Andreas, Gudrun, and Jan be killed, the apologists for the hard line will find that they are not the only ones with weapons at their disposal. They will find that we are many, and that we have enough love—as well as enough hate and imagination—to use both our weapons and their weapons against them, and that their pain will equal ours.

“THE SOLIDARITY OF THE PEOPLE
IS GROUNDED IN REVOLT.”

RAF

September 3, 1977

MONDAY
,
SEPTEMBER
5, 1977

The federal government must take steps to ensure that all aspects of the manhunt cease—or we will immediately shoot Schleyer without even engaging in negotiations for his freedom.

TUESDAY
,
SEPTEMBER
6, 1977

On Monday September 5, 1977, the Siegfried Hausner Commando took Hanns Martin Schleyer, the President of the Federal Association of German Industries and the President of the Employers Association, captive. Regarding the conditions for his release, we will repeat our first communiqué to the federal government, which we have learnt has been suppressed since yesterday by the security staff. That is, all aspects of the search for us must be immediately discontinued or Schleyer will be shot immediately. As soon as the manhunt stops, Schleyer will be released under the following conditions:

RAF prisoners: Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Jan-Carl Raspe, Verena Becker, Werner Hoppe, Karl-Heinz Dellwo, Hanna Krabbe, Bernd Rössner, Ingrid Schubert, and Irmgard Möller must be released in exchange for Schleyer, and must be free to travel to a country of their choosing. Günter Sonnenberg, who is unfit for imprisonment due to a gunshot injury he suffered during his arrest, must be immediately released. The warrant for his arrest must be lifted. Günter will leave with the 10 other prisoners, with whom he must immediately be placed so they can talk. The prisoners must be assembled at 8:00
AM
on Wednesday at the Frankfurt Airport. Between then and their departure at 12:00 noon, they must be allowed to talk freely and unimpeded amongst themselves. At 10:00
AM
, one of the prisoners will enter into direct communication with the commando via German television to inform us that their departure is unfolding according to plan.

For purposes of public oversight and to safeguard the prisoners’ lives between takeoff and landing, we propose that the prisoners be accompanied by Payot, the General Secretary of the United Nations’ International Federation of Human Rights, and Pastor Niemöller. We request that they accept this role to ensure that the prisoners arrive at their chosen destination alive. Naturally, we would agree to any alternative proposal from the prisoners.

Each prisoner will be given 100,000
DM
. This communiqué, which can be authenticated by Schleyer’s photo and his letter, must be broadcast unedited and unaltered on the
Tagesschau
this evening at 8:00
PM
. We will establish the concrete details for freeing Schleyer as soon as we receive confirmation that the prisoners have been freed, that they won’t be extradited, and when the federal government releases a statement guaranteeing that it won’t pursue extradition. We are assuming that Schmidt, who demonstrated in Stockholm how quickly he can make decisions, will be equally quick this time given his personal connection to this greasy magnate of the cream of the national business world.

Siegfried Hausner Commando

WEDNESDAY
,
SEPTEMBER
7, 1977

We presume that the decision not to broadcast our demands and ultimatum on yesterday’s 8:00
PM
Tagesschau
, as we had stipulated, is the result of a decision taken behind closed doors by the Crisis Management Team and reflects a decision by the federal government to resolve the situation militarily. The BKA’s ploy, demanding proof that Schleyer is alive, even though they received Schleyer’s handwritten letter yesterday and are also in possession of a photo of him taken yesterday, has the same function of buying time. We will only respond to the questions the BKA published today, when it is clear that the federal government is holding up its end of the deal—and we are running out of patience repeating this:

The manhunt must be stopped immediately. The prisoners must be gathered together in one place. The confirmation that this has been done will be delivered by one of the prisoners on German television today. As a clear gesture, we demand that the video recording, in which Schleyer reads his letter attached here, be broadcast on every television news show that airs at 6:00
PM
tonight.

Siegfried Hausner Commando

THURSDAY
,
SEPTEMBER
8, 1977

There will be no further communiqués from us until the prisoners are flown out. The federal government has enough proof to assure them that Schleyer is alive: his letter and the videotape, as well as the
recording with his answer to both questions. Go-betweens are unnecessary, as are all other stalling tactics. A resolution which includes Schleyer’s release depends on the departure of the prisoners: otherwise it is not happening. For the last time, we demand:

That the federal government publicly announce its decision by 8:00
PM
this evening. By Friday at 10:00
AM
, proof that preparations have been made for the prisoners’ departure. By 12:00 noon, the prisoners’ departure on a fully fueled Lufthansa long haul aircraft must be broadcast live on television. The remaining demands are known to you from the previous communiqués.

Siegfried Hausner Commando

MONDAY
,
SEPTEMBER
12, 1977

We will wait until 12:00
AM
for a decision from the federal government as to whether they want to make the exchange or not, and that decision should come in the form of obvious preparations for assembling the prisoners. The way in which this should occur has already been established. One of the prisoners must confirm that preparations are underway. The prisoners themselves will inform the federal government of possible destinations. The federal government will receive no further response from us to BKA messages transmitted via Payot. Should the federal government decide to once again allow our ultimatum to pass in silence, they will be responsible for the consequences.

Siegfried Hausner Commando

TUESDAY
,
SEPTEMBER
13, 1977

We have nothing to add to our statement of September 12, 1977. We request that Monsieur Payot play the role that the federal government assigned him, that role and that role only, and that he stop participating in the delays and postponements, which reflect a decision in favor of creating space to maneuver for a military solution.

The tactic of the so-called secret negotiations is absurd given the action’s goal: freeing the prisoners. We have responded to the federal government’s contemptible maneuvers for 9 days with multiple extensions of our ultimatum—they face a dilemma in that agreeing to the demands would contradict the institutionalized hate-driven civil war
mentality they have whipped up against the RAF, and would require resisting the American thumbscrews. On the federal government’s side, during these 9 days there has not been a single concrete development to indicate a willingness to exchange Schleyer. The BKA’s claim that the manhunt was called off is a joke. Every newspaper carries photos of highway checkpoints and reports of homes raided. We are giving the federal government one last extension until 12:00
AM
tonight to fulfil our demands.

Siegfried Hausner Commando

MONDAY
,
SEPTEMBER
26, 1977

If the federal government still wants to save Schleyer’s life, they must immediately call off the manhunt in Germany, as well as arranging a halt to those that have begun in France, Holland and Switzerland. Our demand that all aspects of the search cease remains unchanged.

We are also warning the federal government not to tap our telephone conversations with Payot or attempt to use them in any other way in the search. We will only conduct further negotiations with the federal government through the lawyer Payot if they discontinue their tactic of attempting to prolong telephone calls with senseless conversation, and if it is made clear that measures are being taken to prepare the release of the 11 prisoners specified.

Further signs of life from Schleyer will only be forthcoming if there is concrete evidence that the exchange is being prepared.

Also, if the federal government continues to withhold information from us about the results of Wischnewski’s negotiations, all we have to say is that we know for certain that there are countries willing to take the 11 prisoners.

Siegfried Hausner Commando

THURSDAY
,
OCTOBER
13, 1977

We have given Helmut Schmidt enough time to choose between the American strategy for the extermination of liberation movements in Western Europe and the Third World, and the interests of the federal government in seeing that the most important industrialist alive today not be sacrificed to this imperialist strategy. The ultimatum of the
“Martyr Halimeh” Commando’s Operation Kofr Kaddum and the ultimatum of the RAF’s “Siegfried Hausner” Commando are identical.

The ultimatum expires on Sunday, October 16, 1977, at 8:00
AM GMT
. If, at that time, the eleven prisoners specified have not arrived at their destination, Hanns Martin Schleyer will be shot. After holding Schleyer for forty days, there won’t be another extension of the ultimatum or any further contact. Any delay will mean Schleyer’s death.

To save time, it won’t be necessary for Pastor Niemöller or the lawyer Payot to accompany the prisoners. We will receive confirmation of the prisoners’ arrival even without confirmation from escorts. Hanns Martin Schleyer will be freed within 48 hours of our having received confirmation. Freedom through armed anti-imperialist struggle!

Siegfried Hausner Commando

To all revolutionaries in the world

To all free Arabs

To the Palestinian masses

Today, Thursday, October 13, 1977, a Lufthansa 737 leaving Palma de Majorca en route to Frankfurt, flight number LH 181, passed into the complete control of the Commando “Martyr Halimeh”.

This operation has as a goal the liberation of our comrades in the prisons of the imperialist-reactionary-zionist alliance. This operation reinforces the goals and demands of the Commando “Siegfried Hausner” of the RAF, which commenced on 05-09-77.

Revolutionaries and freedom fighters of the entire world are confronted with the monster of world imperialism, the barbaric war against the peoples of the world, under the hegemony of the U.S.A.

In this imperialist war, the sub-centers like Israel and the FRG have the executive function of oppressing and liquidating all revolutionary movements in and on their specific national territory.

In our occupied land, the imperialist-zionist-reactionary enemy demonstrates the very high level of their hostility, of their bloody aggressivity, against our people and our revolution, against all the Arab masses and their progressive and patriotic forces. The expansionist and racist nature of Israel is, with Menachem Begin at the summit of this ensemble of imperialist interests, clearer than it has ever been.

On the basis of these same imperialist interests West Germany was constructed as a U.S. base in 1945. Its function was the reactionary integration of the countries of West Europe via economic oppression and blackmail. As far as the underdeveloped countries of the world are concerned. West Germany gives financial, technical, and military support to reactionary regimes in Tel-Aviv, Pretoria, Salisbury, Santiago de Chili, etc …

There is a close and special cooperation between the two regimes in Bonn and Tel-Aviv in the military and economic fields, as well as in the area of shared political positions. The two enemy regimes work together against patriotic and revolutionary liberation movements in the world in general and in Arab, African, and Latin American regions in particular. This is manifested by their providing racist and minority regimes in Pretoria and Salisbury with arms and atomic and military technology, by delivering mercenaries and credits to them, by opening
markets for their products, by breaking boycotts and economic embargos surrounding them.

A significant example of the close cooperation between the Mossad, the German Secret Services, the CIA, and the DST is the filthy piracy of the imperialist-reactionary alliance: the Zionist invasion of Entebbe.

Actually, the identical character of Neo-Naziism in West Germany and Zionism in Israel is in the process of becoming clearer in the two countries:

• reactionary ideology is dominant.

• fascist, discriminatory, and racist labor laws are enforced.